Saving electricity is a great way of reducing the energy bills for a consumer while preventing global degradation. The homeowners and businesses should start by looking at how they are using energy around the house or office by executing measures that help reduce wastage and consumption, such as using energy efficient equipment.
Saving electricity at home or office requires a holistic approach that includes installing energy efficient equipment and changing daily habits of how everyone uses the appliances. It may require doing a few simple things in combination with other intense adjustments. Owners can do a lot, such as educating the occupants on why and how they should conserve energy.
Replacing older models with energy efficient equipment
If you have older electrical equipment, they are most likely inefficient as they may not have the power saving modes. Years back, manufacturers fail to attend to saving electricity since there were fewer challenges and technical improvements, resulting in global warming today.
In addition, most consumers only had a handful of electrical appliances compared to today when there are tens of equipment in a single household, hence, a high demand for electricity. This ends up straining existing systems or requiring costly upgrades of the generating and transmission infrastructure, leading to negative impacts to the environment.
For these reasons, replacing the older equipment such as the dishwashers, washing machines, air conditioners, and others with new energy efficient equipment help in saving electricity.
When looking for ways to save electricity, ensure that you address the equipment that consumes the most energy. You can either replace them or simply optimize their use and energy consumption. This includes
- Air conditioning
- Water Heater
- Space heating
- Clothes Washer
- Clothes Dryer
- Refrigerator
Other tips for saving electricity
Even after replacing the energy inefficient equipment, there are other things you can do to reduce the electricity consumption. For example, avoid turning on the electric lights when you can use the daylight. Switch off the lights in empty rooms and also change how you use the electrical equipment.
Whether you have modern or older equipment, the following tips are great in saving electricity.
- Use the washing machines and dish washer on full load rather than small loads. This means that you will use it fewer times which will consume less energy compared to when you use smaller loads several times.
- Minimize the frequency of opening the oven and the refrigerator to avoid having to use extra energy to heat or cool the system to the set temperature.
- Reduce the energy further by doing some tasks manually. For example, you can wash the dishes by hand or use the clothesline instead of the dryer.
- Even when you have an efficient heating and cooling system, a bad insulation will allow heat or cold to escape, hence, requiring additional production of energy to compensate for the loss. You should inspect and repair the home insulation regularly to avoid the leakages.
- While we enjoy using running water when brushing teeth, washing hands, shaving and other tasks, this can have a significant impact on the electricity use. Using more water increases the demand to pump more. You can turn off the tap or reduce the volume of water coming out to prevent wastage.
- Avoid leaving the electronics on standby. Unplug or simply turn off the switch when not in use. When you have several equipment on an extension cord, you do not have to unplug all the items individually, instead, turn off the outlet.
- You could also invest in an advanced extension cord that completely turns off power to the equipment after a prolonged period of inactivity. The advanced power stripe may use sensors to either detect the idle mode or inactivity in the room and then turn off the equipment, such as the TV or music system.
Maintaining electrical appliances
A regular maintenance of the electrical current and electronics equipment, such as the air conditioner and computer, helps in saving electricity. The servicing removes the dust, debris and other objects that my hinder the free movement of air or moving parts. In addition, the service may include other tasks such as lubrication, straightening the fins, and more, depending on the type of equipment.
Saving electricity through recycling
Even though recycling does not benefit the consumer immediately, it helps in cutting down on the energy requirements for the manufacturing industry. Recycling the electronic boards can retrieve huge amounts of gold and copper. The amounts retrieved from one ton of old electronics circuit boards may be more that what is available from one ton of raw material.
Conclusion
Saving electricity in every home and business requires a number of strategies. While using energy efficient appliances is one way, how you use the equipment impacts on the overall energy use.